W4A3 HEALTHCARE BUDGET REQUEST – ESTIMATING EXPENSES

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Healthcare Budget Request

<Proposed product or service name>

Prepared by:

<Name>

Submitted:

<Date of submission>

W2A2 Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Healthcare Issue or Opportunity: Outdated MRI Equipment

The issue identified within our healthcare organization revolves around the aging MRI equipment. The outdated technology has caused problems regarding the speed and accuracy of imaging tests and created a burden on the diagnostic imaging team. This issue is critical as it has far reaching impacts on patients, patients experience, providers and overall operational efficiency at the organization level.

Stakeholder Groups Impacted

Patients: Patients are at a disadvantage as outdated MRI equipment often leads to prolonged wait times and suboptimal image quality. The latter usually causes diagnostic confusion and consequent delays in treatment and anxiety in patients having to undergo a second test or interpret ambiguous results.

Radiologists and Technologists: Radiologists and technologists have the challenge of diagnosing and treating patients with the poor image quality produced by aging MRI machines. Misdiagnosis, a difficult-to-manage workload when attempting to rework cases, and declining job satisfaction can also result from the variability in image quality inherent in older scanner tables.

Operational Staff: The inefficiency of our MR scanner will continue to slow the throughput of patients. The only solution is to add hours to the daily schedule, though this will increase labor costs, reduce patient throughput even further, and make our service even less operationally efficient.

Finance Department: Our aging machine risks resulting in lost revenues. It is difficult to know how many patients we lose to competitors with newer diagnostic imaging. Better performance from our own scanner could enable us to regain these patients. An unexpected expense for an expensive repair or spare part that puts us over budget would come at a bad time financially.

Responsible Stakeholder Groups

There are three teams responsible for addressing the outdated MRI equipment: leadership, finance, and the technology management teams. The primary team is the leadership team as they are the ones that allocate the resources and make the strategic decisions to respond to the critical gap in our healthcare infrastructure. The finance department plays a critical role in that it could assess different types of budget, explore different options, and indicate any funding resources. The last team is the technology management team, which is responsible for the procurement, installation, and maintenance.

Proposed Healthcare Product or Service

Our solution calls for the replacement of our currently outdated machines with state-of-the-art MRI equipment. The solution involves a capital investment for the purchase of the equipment plus associated annual costs for maintenance of the equipment, disposable supplies, and staffing. The solution is an investment in the new MRI technology for improved patient care. The enhanced technology will improve diagnostic accuracy and better the overall patient experience. Shorter scan times will reduce patient wait times and increase image quality. The outdated MRI machines are an embarrassment and no longer an adequate solution for scan time (Anazodo et al., 2022). The offered solution not only addresses the imminent need for updated technology, but it also fulfills the organization's long-term objectives of maintaining a competitive edge, attracting and keeping patients, and delivering the highest standard of healthcare.

In conclusion, the matter of inadequately functioning MRI machines is a problem that needs to be addressed in order to enhance patient care, take advantage of the potential benefits of MRI technology, and conserve our financial resources. The remedy for the situation is a strategic investment in modern diagnostic equipment with clear benefits that can be reaped by the patients, the health-care managers, and the organization. Working together, the leaders, finance, and technology management group will be able to successfully put the proposal into effect, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of our healthcare delivery system.

References

Anazodo, U., Ng, J. J., Ehiogu, B., Obungoloch, J., Fatade, A., Mutsaerts, H.-J., Secca, M. F., Diop, M., Opadele, A. E., Alexander, D. C., Dada, M. O., Ogbole, G., Nunes, R., Figueiredo, P., Figni, M., Aribisala, B., Awojoyogbe, B. O., Sprenger, C., Olakunle, A., & Romeo, D. (2022). A Framework for Advancing Sustainable MRI Access in Africa. MedRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.02.22274588

Hilabi, B. S., Alghamdi, S. A., & Almanaa, M. (2023). Impact of Magnetic Resonance Imaging on Healthcare in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Cureus, 15(4). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.37698

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